Bob Wolfley | SportsDay

Bob Uecker sitting out Brewers' road trip

Bob Uecker sits next to his statue in the section known as the "Uecker Seats" on April 25.

Radio broadcaster Bob Uecker will not work the Brewers' next two series on the road, at Atlanta for four games and at Miami for three games.

Uecker, 79, announced before the season his intent to cut back on some road trips. This is the first time he will miss a series as part of his reduced schedule.

Former Brewers outfielder Darryl Hamilton will work the radio broadcasts in Atlanta with Joe Block, with Block handling play-by-play the entire game and Hamilton serving as analyst throughout. Hamilton began his fill-in role Monday night at Turner Field.

Uecker will return to the booth Monday, when the Brewers play the Orioles in the first of a three-game series at Miller Park.

Uecker has not decided what other road trips he plans to miss this season and will make that determination as the season unfolds. The Hall of Fame broadcaster has said he might not make western road trips.

Not counting a two-game trip to Minnesota to play the Twins on June 4 and 5, the next western swing the Brewers will make begins at Arizona (June 16-19), followed by three games in Denver (June 20-22).

The Brewers have said other analysts in addition to Hamilton likely will step in to replace Uecker in his absence.

"Good to be back," Hamilton told Block in the pre-game show Monday night. "We were able to work a game in spring training to get our feet wet. I am looking forward to this."

Hamilton said he will continue to be an analyst for the MLB Network.

"I've always heard I have a great face for radio," Hamilton said. "So I'm taking advantage of that. Really, this is something I always wanted to do as a kid. . . . It's fun, but it's challenging as well because you just can't get up here and just start talking. You have to do your research. You have to have a little bit of knowledge of the game. And you have to make it fun. Those are all things I enjoy doing."

On the younger side

The average age of adult Major League Baseball television viewers is 47.6 years, according to a recent study by Scarborough, a market research company.

Viewers of baseball in the Milwaukee market have the third-youngest average age, 45.9, among MLB markets.

The MLB markets with the youngest average age are Dallas-Fort Worth (45.51) and Houston (45.54).

A Nielsen study of sports media in 2013 showed that the median age of TV viewers of MLB regular-season games was 55.

Into the wild Blue yonder

Former Marquette guard Vander Blue is among those who are a major focus in ESPN The Magazine's latest issue, which is about the stories behind sports transactions that took place on Jan. 22, 2014.

On that date, the Boston Celtics signed Blue to a 10-day contract.

The story emphasizes the stints Blue has had on pro teams since leaving Marquette after his junior season. He was not chosen in the 2013 NBA draft.

The magazine reports that Blue has traveled 40,000 miles to play in 57 games in 27 cities with 10 teams in four leagues under 10 coaches. Over the course of nine months, Blue was never on one roster for more than 12 straight games.

"Got to go chase that money," Blue told his family when he declared himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Blue played in four games in the NBA regular season, all for the Celtics during that 10-day contract. Most recently, he played for the Idaho Stampede on the NBA D-League.

The story says Blue's mother, Rita, "refused to respond to his text messages for two days, furious that he had left school without a degree." She is now helping her son manage his expenses. ("You can't spend $5,000 at the club just because you met some girl," Rita told her son).

"You have two choices in the D-League, because the D mostly stands for depression," Blue tells the magazine. "You can wake up angry, which is what most guys do. You can obsess over your stats and feel like you are getting cheated. Or you can have fun and try to make the best of it. That's me."

Sam doc 'postponed'

The documentary series that the Oprah Winfrey Network had planned to air on rookie linebacker Michael Sam has been postponed.

Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL team, when the St. Louis Rams selected him in the seventh round on May 9. When the network announced plans for the documentary on Wednesday, the club was taken by surprise.

"After careful consideration and discussion with the St. Louis Rams, 'The Untitled Michael Sam Project' has been postponed, allowing Michael the best opportunity to achieve his dream of making the team," OWN President Erik Logan said in a statement.